In the End
by Slayer of Demise
Summary: Sequel to "In the Beginning". Two years after his disappearance, Barri has somehow returned. Though he's come back, his memory is gone, and he has changed in many ways, for good and bad. From the attic he must now call home, he'll have to figure out who he is, all while having to understand those who have changed around him and the reoccurring dreams of the mysterious "Magicant".
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One: The Beginning of the End**

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I just finished revising the last chapter of the first story and I'm writing this just after posting that first chapter, so that should give you a good idea of how much work I put into this. Anyway, this is the sequel and few chapters shorter than the last, but still thoroughly enjoyable. I hope you enjoy this as much as (or even more than) I do, so yeah. If you've not read the first story, you will be horribly confused. Enjoy, and muffin button.

**DISCLAIMER: You know damn well I don't own this series. No denying it.**

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_December 15th, Barri POV_

I felt a groggy groan escape my throat as I woke up in a chilly, clear-aired place. My face was smothered into a warm throw pillow made of felt, I let out a soft sigh, moving my arms to work out the sleepy kinks. _What happened? I can't remember what I was doing… Was I doing something? I think I was, but… was it important? I don't… _Though I felt so comfortable and sleepy, I sat up to get a better view of my surroundings. The room was small with wood flooring and a slanted roof, I guessed this had to be an attic. There were a lot of cardboard boxes gathering dust along with a few odd objects laying about. I wrapped the silk blanket around me protectively, "Where's this...?"

The sound of a tired groan reached my ears, I looked over the side of the mattress. There was a boy sleeping there hunched over on the sheets, and he looked a bit older than me. His hair was a light golden color that was a bit ruffled and brushed against his bright cheeks. He wore a long-sleeved sweater that seemed a bit big on him, a pair of faded blue jeans, and black socks that must have been used to keep him warm since the air was so cold here. His face was peaceful and almost childlike as he lightly breathed in and out with a slow rhythm. _Who is he?_

I prodded his shoulder with a thin finger, making sure not to poke too hard, "H-hey, wake up." He opened his pale azure, dazed eyes and gazed up at me with a fairly blank expression and faint smile that looked oddly somber, "You're awake, that's great. I almost thought you were dead, Barri." _Does he know who I am? _"Who are you?", I asked quietly. He frowned, it didn't look right on him, "Oh right, you don't remember."

v(-_-)v

_"Barri, is that you?"_

_"Who?"_

_"You're Barri... you don't remember me, do you?"_

_"N-no, I don't. Ack!"_

_"You're bleeding, we have to get you home."_

_"Ow, that hurt!"_

_"Sorry, try not to move too much."_

_"O-okay..."_

v(-_-)v

"After that, you passed out and fell asleep for two days.", the boy named Lucas explained. "But... how do you know me?" "I adopted you about two years ago from an old orphanage. I'm your legal guardian, but I'm more like your older brother. You disappeared in the fall a month and a half after we met and we thought you died." "Oh, okay..." I remained silent with my arms and blanket wrapped around myself. Lucas affectionately ruffled my dark mop of hair, "It's okay if you don't remember, I'm just happy you're alive. I'll go get you some food, you must be hungry." He opened the floor hatch in the middle of the room and climbed down the ladder.

_Lucas POV_

Just as I had unextended the ladder, my brother appeared behind me with his black furred tabby in his arms, "How's the kid doing? Has he woken up yet?" I nodded, "He's just fine, but he really doesn't remember a thing, not even us." Claus gave a disappointed puff of breath, "That really sucks, but at least he's alive." Claus helped me get a small meal together for Barri (he's been teaching me how to cook foods other than omelets). "Can't we just tell him everything?", I asked. "Just because we tell him, doesn't mean he'll just automatically remember his whole life. Just give him time, tell him about things if he asks to see if anything sparks.", my brother explained. "Okay, I'll try that... doesn't it bother you how much older he looks?" "Yeah, the last time we saw him, he was a little pipsqueak, now he looks like he's only a few years younger than us. What do you think happened?" I just shrugged, "How should I know? It's pretty strange though…"

_Barri POV_

Lucas came back a couple of minutes later with a bowl of beef stew and a baguette. I frowned with a tiny sigh, "I'm sorry... I still don't remember anything." "That's all right, you'll remember when you really need to." I ripped part of the bread and put it in my mouth, from the taste I could tell it was freshly made. "Why'm I sleeping in the attic?", I asked. "Oh, well we had a similar problem where the whole village thought my brother was dead for ten years. He was actually stuck on an island and he came back, but we didn't tell anyone. One of my friends came to visit when Claus was walking around the house... it was a really big mess. We had to lie and say he had just washed up on shore and came the night before, even though that happened two years ago.", Lucas explained to me. "Oh, I get it. So then... how'd I "die"?" Lucas didn't seem too comfortable with that question, but he answered anyway. "You were trying to protect me, you hurt yourself in the process and..." I could tell he didn't want to talk about it, so I stopped him there, "It's okay, I get it." I continued to eat the potatoes in the stew, I didn't want to overload him with questions. "Hey…," Lucas began, "You haven't… been hearing voices in your head or seeing strange people, have you?" _Huh? What an odd thing to ask… _"No, the only person I've seen that I know of is you, and I haven't been hearing voices. Why do you ask?" He shook his head, "… Never mind, it's not important."

_Lucas POV_

After his lunch, Barri went right back to sleep. I guessed he must still be tired and exhausted, at least Claus had been able to heal his wound. The ravenette was warmly bundled under the sheets with a pure air of serenity surrounding him. Though I couldn't help but worry about the boy. He felt… different than he did before, it didn't feel like he was himself. Maybe it was because he didn't have the memories that made him who he was, or maybe it was something else, but I couldn't help but worry about the boy in his condition.

_I really hope he'll be all right like this..._


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two: Questions**

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It's a chapter. Yup.

_**DISCLAIMER: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! (Deep breath) No.**_

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_December 15th, Claus POV_

Lucas had to go out to see Duster and Kumatora, I could tell he really didn't want to leave, but he had to tell them about Barri. I watched over the kid for a while until he woke up. He was... really weird. He didn't curse me out for being in the same room as him or try to throw me down the ladder. In anything, he was just extremely quiet and much kinder than I expected him to be. His voice was a little deeper than I remembered, but he spoke like a timid mouse. He asked me to help look through the boxes filled with his things, he wanted to see if it would help him remember anything, so Zero and I decided to lend a hand.

"Hm…", the boy frowned, digging his hand in a smaller box, "I can't find anything, nothing's really working." "Don't worry, you don't have to force yourself to remember.", I reassured the boy. He pouted silently, resting his chin on the corner of a box, "I guess so…" From inside one of the boxes beside me, I heard a barrage of frantic mewls. I peered inside to see Zero softly pawing at an auburn, leather-bound journal sealed with a band of a darker shade. I picked up the dark cat along with the journal in my other hand, "You found this, buddy? Huh…" It looked familiar, but it took me a few moments to figure out what it was. "Oh, I think Lucas gave that to you a while ago," I turned to the mopping boy in front of me, "You used to shut yourself in your room and write in it a lot." I handed the book to him, watching him leaf through a couple pages. He puffed his cheeks out slightly with confused eyes, "We're… psychics?" "Yeah, like... with telekinesis and special powers, that kind of thing." The tip of my index finger let out a pale orange glow. A nearby stack of novels rose up from a box, I wagged my finger to the left to set the books on the wood floor. "That's one kind of thing we can do; you, me, Lucas, and this princess we know called Kumatora." _"That's really weird..." _"I guess it is, but not so much when you get used to it." There was another vexed look, "You're a mind reader?" A small tinge of embarrassment touched my cheeks as my gaze shied away from the boy, "Sorry, I don't know how to control that, I just... hear what people say in their heads all the time. That's kind of why I don't hang around the villagers a lot." I was shocked by the ravenette's indifferent shrug, "That's okay, I don't really mind. I don't have anything to hide from you, so it doesn't really matter..."

_He's so different, like he's a whole other person now..._ He gave a long sigh, "I might remember something if I keep reading it, but none of this is really sparking anything so far…" "Don't worry, you don't have to rush. Just give it some time."

_Barri POV_

Claus said he was getting tired from being around books (half the boxes were just filled with novels), so he went to his room to take a nap. I decided to investigate my old journal. After getting a few pages in, I learned a few things about my former self. I was vulgar. Extremely vulgar. I also used to be quick-tempered (_"I'd be happy if Claus would just shut the fuck up for once!"_) and a bit rude (_"She's always nagging about my PSI control, blah blah, god she's so annoying."_). With all those details, I don't think I could ever have fit that description. If anything, I was the complete opposite. _I really do wonder what my life was like before..._

Then there were some things that didn't really make that much sense. I talked about there being… voices in my head that called themselves Evan and Adam. They'd only been voices in my head for three months, just after someone named Jake had died, then they were somehow able to take a transparent, human form just after I'd learned of my psychic abilities. From what I read, I had a theory about them being connected to Jake (who was also a psychic) and my realization of my powers. It was odd, I tried hiding it from Lucas and Claus, but some other things I wrote suggested that Claus may have already known because of his mind reading abilities. And then there was mentions of a "scarring nightmare" I've had for almost two years because of some traumatic event that I described having something to do with my mother and something I "regretted completely". Claus and Lucas seemed to know about what it was about, and the notes said something along the lines of, "I knew they would find out about it sooner or later, but I wished I would never have to tell them. I wouldn't blame them if they thought I was some monster, they must already think I'm insane." I didn't understand anything that was in there, it was just all crazy and inconsistent, at least in my eyes. At one point, this all must have made sense to me, but it was much too strange to make sense of.

_It seems that the more I learn, the more questions I have…_


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three: Riddling Names**

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Editing this is surprisingly easier than editing the story before this, but still enjoyable nonetheless. Then again, I have nothing much to do in the summer since I'm a house hermit who hates sunlight more than vampires. Not Twilight-esque ones, actual vampires who rip people apart, like Blade. Ah, Blade, probably one of the first horror-ish movies I saw when I was but a young lad of five or six, along with some Saw movies. Yeah, my mum's awesome.

_**DISCLAIMER: Owning this series and me are like Superman and Kryptonite, we don't go together.**_

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_December 16th, Barri POV_

I don't remember how I got to a forest, I just woke from where I slept on an old stump. All of my senses were fuzzy, as though this was all a dream. "How'd I get out of the attic?", I wondered. For some reason, everything around me had a dark, midnight blue shade to it, even the twisted, winding trees and the murky, ominous bushes. Whispers filled the hollow trees and silent wind, seeping through my ears and into my head._ What's going on? It sounds like there are people here, bu-Ugh!_ I felt a rush of soreness in my head, making my legs shake as I struggled to keep standing. "Wh-where's this place? It's so strange..." A cherry red mailbox in the middle of some trees caught my attention, I shuffled over to it to search its contents. I reached my hand in, pulling out a large bundle of letters. For some reason, they all seemed to discuss me and someone without a name except for the first one, the name was scratched out in what I assumed was red ink. Some other words were also blotched out by clumps of ink.

The boy named XXXX fell into a deep sleep for a very long time.

The boy with no name was created.

The boy with no name was hurt.

The boy with no name was unloved.

The boy with no name tried to run away.

The boy with no name XXXXXX again.

The boy with no name was taken in.

The boy with no name was bullied.

The boy with no name was reached out to.

The boy named Barri made a friend.

The boy named Barri XXXXXX his friend.

The boy named Barri hated everyone.

The boy named Barri wanted to XXX.

The boy named Barri met someone like him.

The boy named Barri was cared for.

The boy named Barri found a place to call home.

The boy named Barri learned some bad magic.

The boy named Barri was a liar.

The boy named Barri went insane.

The boy named Barri XXXXXX little animals.

The boy named Barri wanted to XXXX everyone he loved.

The boy named Barri wanted to destroy it all.

The boy named Barri is now XXXX.

The boy named Barri learned everything was-

"You shouldn't stay in the forest alone."

I swiveled to the direction the quaint and soft voice had come from. The noises in my head slowly died down when I laid eyes on the little boy in the black cap. He seemed to have a calm air about him and could be no older than six years old. Though something that struck me very odd about him was that he could easily pass for being my younger brother; he looked just like me, almost as if he could be a clone of my younger self. "If you're alone in this forest," he said to me, "You could get cursed or the Darkness might steal your soul." "Darkness...?" "The Darkness is an evil demon who want nothing but to take your soul so he can leave Magicant. Everyone in Magicant is afraid of him, so they're hiding in their homes outside this forest. Come on, you can follow me to my house where you'll be safe." With tiny, frozen fingers, I was led through the forest by the mystery boy. _Magicant? Cursed? What's he talking about?_

Our destination had been reached when we took refuge inside of a small, yellow cottage in the shape of a seashell. _These things just keep getting weirder..._ We sat on a pale love seat couch together, the stranger just stared out the window with a neutral expression. "Where are we?", I asked curiously. "This is your Magicant," explained the boy, "You could call it a place of make believe, but it's actually real. Though it's all in your mind." "All in my mind?" _How could I ever come up with something like this? _"And this curse you were talking about… What is that about?" "The curse…," he began, "This forest is cursed so that you can never leave this forest. I've been cursed because I live here, so I've been trapped for a very long time. Though now that I see you now, I don't think the curse would affect you; you seem to be someone with a very pure heart." _So, he's trapped in this forest and can't leave? That's sounds terrible, I can't imagine how long he must have been here alone… _

"So... who are you then? You look just like me but..." The boy let a frown crease his features, "I… Because of the curse, I can't tell anyone my own name. I'm a part of you, but you don't realize that yet… Maybe… If you can guess my name through these riddles I tell you, I think that could work." _Riddles? Maybe I did come up with this. _"O-Okay, I'll solve your riddles." He looked at me with a soft smile and kind eyes, "All right then. Hm… This word can be used and spelled in two different ways. One is used for the senses, the second would refer to you. This word is the latter of the two. What is the word?"

v(-_-)v

My eyes flashed open with a sharp gasp. My sheets tangled and clung to my sweaty legs. I buried my face into my pillow with a breathy sigh, "Was it... just a dream?"

_Lucas POV_

I took Kumatora and Duster to visit Barri in the afternoon, the teen seemed happy to see us since he was sprawled on the floor with a book resting over his face when we found him. The couple was surprised to see how much the boy had grown, but I couldn't blame them (he was taller than Kumatora, though she's relatively short). We spent a little time together, ate some nut bread, and talked a bit. Kumatora suggested that she could take Barri up to the mountains like they did before, he had no objections to that and seemed excited to leave the house tomorrow. They left around four o'clock, saying something about getting a Christmas tree for Kumatora's cottage.

Barri frowned at all the novels and papers all over the floor, staring at the items with distaste. "How'd I get this place so messy? Oh well.", he sighed. His hands let out a pale violet glow as his belongings organized themselves in the boxes. "You know how to use your powers?", I asked the young psychic. "Yeah, I saw Claus do it before. I thought it didn't look that hard, so I just started practicing myself." _He's such a smart kid. No wonder I had so much trouble keeping secrets from him before._


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four: What Really is a Family?**

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I've just begun to realize how short these chapters are, but I'm too lazy to mash them together. Like I said, this story is a lot shorter than the last one, but it's still not too bad

**DISCLAIMER: Screw owning this series, I have fan fictio****ns.**

* * *

_December 17th, Barri POV_

Claus and Kumatora took me outside, they said something about PSI, but I was more excited about getting out of the house. I've been stuck inside for what felt like so long, I think my skin has gotten a lot paler since I haven't gotten any sunlight. We traveled to a very mountainous area early in the morning so that we would be alone and the villagers didn't notice us.

"All right, Goldie," Kumatora announced, "Let's start with something simple. Shields are good for defense and whatever, and they're pretty strong. Follow my example. Shield Alpha." A force field like dome of a pale verdant hue surrounded the princess, she motioned towards me, "Now you try." I focused as well as I could, scrunching my face up a bit, until a transparent dome with some reds and yellows surrounded me. "Like this?", I asked. "That's weird," Claus commented, "You didn't have to use a spell." "What'd you mean?" Well, normally you have to say a spell to get a PSI technique to work," the pinkette explained, "Usually if you don't say it, there's no effect." _Really? Wow, either I'm just weird or a really good psychic..._

Kumatora taught me how to use Brainshock and Freeze (I don't know the form or "stage" they are, but she said they had to be at least a high beta or a low gamma) and next time Lucas will come with us and show me how to use Love and Flash, they're supposed to be rare and special techniques I could use before, I think. She's going to take me with back with her a couple times a week, so I'll be able to go outside and won't be stuck in the house all the time. We got back home before the villagers could wake up and see us (or mainly me), and since Lucas was still sleeping when we got back (though for some reason, he was on the floor), we were careful to be quiet until he got up. We had lunch together around twelve, they ate with me in the attic so I didn't feel lonely.

When we were eating, Claus made a few jokes about Lucas's disheveled bedhead, the blue-eyed man just shrugged to his brother's silly comments. I was puzzled by their behavior, ever since I read a few passages from my old notebook. Apparently, I wrote how Lucas was a complete worry wart and freaks out at every little thing. Though he was always smiling and happy, even for "stupid" things. The way I see him, he's completely laid back and nearly monotonous. Claus on the other hand was described as annoying and... a word I'd rather not say, but he's very funny in my opinion and always kind to me. I shook my head with a sigh. _Maybe I was just crazy before..._

_December 20th_

I fell asleep reading a book, I think, that's how I returned to Magicant once again. I wasn't in the forest this time, but instead a dry, magenta grassland. The sky seemed to shine a pale shade of mauve, I think that was probably going to be the most normal thing I would see in this place. Noname (my younger look alike, I have decided to call him for now) wasn't with me either, so I decided to wander by myself. I don't know how long I walked in the tall grass, though it felt like hours had passed. I wasn't paying much attention to where I was, or where I was going, but the collision with a soft object to my shoe brought me out of my brain deadness. Between the blades there was a brown jack rabbit, heavily mutilated with stab wounds on its chest. Beside it laid a wooden stake caked in dried blood. I reached out to the abused animal, but something invisible seemed to repel my hand. "You killed me. I hate you.", said the rabbit before disappearing into nothing.

Without warning, a giant pit opened beneath me and I began to plummet. I wasn't scared or frightened at all. I felt… tired, as if I were falling to sleep. My feet touched solid ground, but I wasn't at the bottom of a hole. My surroundings resembled a baby boy's nursery; the pale sky wallpaper and child's baseball bat in the corner gave it away. Beside an ivory, rocking cradle stood a young couple. They seemed to be very happy together with their small child, who seemed to be fast asleep. I could hear them whispering and quietly laughing, careful not to wake their son.

"-will probably be just like you, outgoing and strong.", giggled the mother. "Really? Jeff thought the same thing. I kind of thought so too, but I think he'll be gentle and understanding, like you." There was a soft ring that sounded throughout the house, the dark haired man smiled, adjusting his baseball cap, "Sound's like mom's here, she's been dying to see the baby."

v(-_-)v

I opened my eyes to discover I was back in the real world, seeing as Zero's whiskers tickled the side of my neck. For some reason, the cat seemed to visit me quite often and liked to keep me company when the others were busy. I didn't mind his presence since he seemed very kind, even if he didn't speak at all. I yawned, letting a hand carefully stroke his coat, "Thanks for waking me up..." He curled to my side, his content purrs massaging my stomach. My head sank back into the pillow, I sighed loudly, "Why did those people feel so familiar...?"

v(-_-)v

Lucas came to see me for a while in the afternoon while I was reading a novel. He didn't disturb my activity, he just sat next to me at the edge of my bed silently. I wasn't too comfortable with him being so quiet, so I set my book down to start a conversation. There was something I wanted to ask him as well. "Lucas," I began hesitantly, "Do you… know what my parents were like?" I picked up on some of the doubt and unsureness in his normally unreadable expression. "Your father died when you were young and your mother was abusive and treated you unkindly.", he stated bluntly. "That's... that's awful... What about your parents, what were they like?", I asked curiously. The blonde's mood seemed to lighten slightly as he spoke, "I loved them a lot. Mom was always nice and helped people all the time. She used to go out and pick sunflowers for us when we were sick. My dad was nice and a little strict too, but only when Claus tried to throw his hat down the well."

It was rare to see him smile, it was a bit melancholy, but he looked happy to reminisce about his family. It looked much more natural for him to smile. "Christmas is almost here," he said, "Is there anything you want?" I picked up my book with a playful grin, "Can't say, it's a secret. If I tell you, it won't come true." "That's for birthdays, not Christmas. What is it?" "Still not telling!"

_I just want everyone to be happy._


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five: Broken Memory, Broken Mirror**

* * *

Ugh, I have to go back to school in a few weeks. It's not that I have trouble with school work or anything, it's just that the people act so damn immature and loud. Those teenagers with all their "YOLO's" and "Social Networks", I mean, what the hell is a "hash tag"? … I feel like an old man. Excuse me while I go get eaten by someone.

**DISCLAIMER: Not even Shenron can grant that wish.**

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_December 23, Barri POV_

Claus took me to see the Dragos on the plateau a few days ago when it wasn't snowing too badly, he could tell I was kind of bored being stuck in the attic, he said. I had a lot of fun with the large lizard-like animals, and Claus even taught me how to ram into them (I'm not sure why, but they seem to like it). After a while, we plopped on the ground, laughing and out of breath from the play-fighting. I was surprised when Claus started asking if I ever felt like going out of the attic more often. Of course I did, I told him, I wished I could get out more often because of how I always had to hide. I almost banged my foot on a nearby boulder when I heard him say he would give me permission to sneak out at night when everyone is asleep. I thought he was joking, but he assured me he wasn't. As long as I didn't tell Lucas and I stayed out of the villager's sights, I could go.

Tonight, I wanted to come back to where Lucas found me, Oshoe Castle. I wanted to see if I could find any info about why I was there and what had happened to me. I returned to the site, but there was nothing that could help me in my search. A few friendly dead people (who didn't scare me in the slightest, oddly enough) talked to me for a while and let me play the piano in the dining room with them (according to them, I have the hands of a pianist). Before leaving that area, they taught me how to play a short song. I forgot the title, but it reminded me of an eerie music box, though I'm not sure if that makes any sense. My search led me up to a forgotten spiral staircase into a small tower, vacant of life and death. Aside from the dust and cobwebs, the broken mirror that stood on one leg and what I identified as traces of a few old and dried blood drops caught my attention. _Have I been here before? This room feels so familiar..._ My eyes shifted to the lone window. I frowned, as if I had expected someone or something to be there. _This place... reminds me of Claus for some reason. I... I feel like something bad happened here..._

I walked over to the mirror, letting my hand rest on the side of the jagged edges. I looked into the eyes of my reflection... then I started to cry. I had no way to explain what had come over me, it was just so sudden. A large wave of depression and self-hatred washed over me, though... they felt like someone else's emotions, not completely my own. I retracted my hands and brought them both to cover my ears as I dropped to the stone floor. I could hear voices echoing in my head as the tears flooded my eyes.

_"Thank god you're alive, you had me worried. I was scared that I killed you. I'm sorry for scaring you like that…" _

_"Wh-what the hell is wrong with you...?", _

_"What do you mean?" _

_"You usually act like an a-asshole to me all the time, and now you're p-pretending to care about me? I swear you just love playing with other people's emotions..." _

_"What are you talking about? I'm not pretending. I think you might have lost a little too much blood…" _

I shook my head as I loudly hiccupped, my mind was too boggled to understand why I was hearing these voices.

_"I'm sorry if I upset you, it isn't something I can control. I really wish you'd stop pushing me away, I only want t-" _

_"YOU DAMN IDIOT, LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE! STOP APOLIGIZING, I DON'T EVEN CARE! I DON'T NEED YOU TO HELP ME OR DO ANYTHING, YOU'RE JUST ANOTHER ASSHOLE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A DAMN THING ABOUT ME, SO JUST PISS OFF ALREADY!" _

_"I don't understand you? Is that really what you really think? Whenever you're around me, I hear your thoughts, so I know why you're like this and I know why you act the way you do. You push people away all the time, and don't want anyone to get close to you. You try so hard to distance yourself from others to the point you won't talk to anyone about what's bothering you and it's been eating you up inside. You try acting tough when, honestly, you're afraid of your own shadow and yourself. I know about the things that have happened to you, and you actually believed you're cursed and that you'll affect anyone who comes close to you..._

_"... It's because you want to-"_

"SHUT UP, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

I was quick to get on my feet and race down the stone steps of the tower. Needless to say, I wasn't going back to that tower anytime soon.

_December 24, Lucas POV_

I frowned at the tiny boxes in front of me. I hid them under my bead with a small huff. _It's not like I know how to make anything else, and I don't just want to get something from the bazar. Oh well, there's not much else I can do._

_Claus POV_

Ever since this morning, Barri has been acting strange. Well, stranger than usual. The kid's been acting jittery and freaked about something. He wouldn't say a thing to my brother (who's locked in his room right now doing who knows what) and he won't even look at me. He was fine yesterday, so I don't really know what could be wrong with him.

He sat squished into the corner of his room, (he says corners make him feel safe, weird) draped in blankets on the bed as his pencil scratched in his notebook. I would catch him stealing a glance at me when he thought I wasn't watching, only to go back to his journal when he saw I noticed him. _This is getting a bit out of hand..._ "Barri, are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine, it's just... never mind.", he muttered, sinking further into his sheets. I put an arm around his shoulders and gave him a tiny nudge, "Come on, you can tell me." _"Maybe I should..."_ He lightly fidgeted with the corner of a blank page and wore a tiny frown, "Well, it's just... have I ever gotten really mad at you? You know, how I was before." _That... of all things, I did not expect that._

"Yeah, all the time. I'd say "hi" and you'd say "go jump off a cliff". I wasn't sure if you were bipolar, or if you just hated me. Probably both.", I chuckled playfully. He looked down at his knees awkwardly, "Oh... I'm sorry. If I yelled at you or... said anything that might've hurt you... I don't think I really meant it." I gave him a little squeeze, that got a nervous giggle out of him. "Don't worry, I know you never meant it. No matter what you say, I'd never stop loving you. You're my little brother, and you always will be."


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six: Not So Jolly Holiday**

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By the time this goes up (keep in mind, I'm editing this in the beginning of August), this is going to feel so awkward since it's not Christmas. If it were still July, that'd make a bit more sense, but it isn't. So… (Retrieves douche-migouche glasses) Deal with it.

_**DISCLAIMER: If I had an ice-cream cone for every time I've owned this series... then I'd be a sad panda. I'm a sad panda.**_

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_XXXXXXX XX, XXXX POV_

I could hear an odd sound. It was almost like a heartbeat, though it just wasn't the same. It just kept going. Beep. Beep. Beep. My dark surroundings became lighter, though my vision was blurred. I'm not completely sure, but I think I saw a silhouette. They said something to me. They said-

_December 25, Barri POV_

"Wake up, sleepyhead!"

I lazily blinked my eyes at the twins by my bedside, then turned over on the mattress, "Noooo, I wanna sleep..." Claus, being as stubborn as I was, scooped me up from the bed by my torso and dragged me off the sheets, "C'mon, it's Christmas! You can sleep later!" I stopped him from nearly splitting me in half and sat down on my pillow. "Okay, you win," I yawned, then frowned, "Oh, I forgot to get you guys something. I'm sorry." Lucas shrugged, "You're here, and that's a good enough gift for us." Claus picked up a festive box I hadn't noticed was on the floor, he handed it to me, "Here, from Claus, but not Santa."

I pulled off the green ribbon and removed the lid, I was met with an ebony, leather-bound pad held together with a spiral. "I thought you'd like it since I see you making doodles all the time." "Thanks Claus, I almost ran out of paper, this is great.", I said with a little laugh. "And for you", announced the ginger to his brother, "I'll teach you how to bake red velvet cake since you've been hassling me for my recipe." "That sounds fun.", came the plain answer. _Now I feel kind of bad about not getting them anything..._

Lucas, who had his hands hidden behind his back, held out two tiny boxes for me and Claus. We carefully opened out gifts, though what we found was a bit surprising. In our boxes, there was a tiny paper doll. Claus's had bright emerald dots for eyes, cartoonish looking vermillion, paper hair along with clothes similar to the ones he normally wore. The one I received resembled me as well, I found it quite adorable. "They're charms," the stoic male explained bashfully, "I have one too. They're for a charm I read about somewhere that bond people together. I wanted to make something, and this was the best thing I could think of..." "That's okay, I really like them, they're cute.", I reassured the sulking psychic. "Yeah", Claus agreed, "Don't be such a downer. C'mon and help me make some more drinks."

v(-_-)v

I had another strange dream. When I fell asleep before it happened, I think Lucas, Claus, and I were all drinking hot cocoa and we all passed out on the attic floor. The dream was a bit fuzzy and somewhat difficult to understand, but from what I saw, it was not a pretty sight. A large number of people in pink suits and boar-like helmets crowded the inside of a small living room. The mother of the baby from my last vivid dream was there, face down in a pool of blood, her eyes wide open with permanent fear. The father struggled against the people trying to contain him. He shot off violet blasts of energy, but stopped when a soldier pressed a gun to the back of his head and pulled the trigger. A dark-haired boy in a black cap who could be no older than six was being dragged down the stairs kicking and screaming, _"No, let me go! Mom! Dad! Help, somebody!" _A blow to the back of his neck knocked him unconscious. Within an instant, one by one the pig men disappeared along with the little boy, leaving behind the dead family.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven: New Years, Old Secrets**

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Five in the morning exactly. Yup. I really love this chapter, not exactly sure why. Then again, so much happens that's just a bit… Hectic. You'll understand why in just a bit.

_**DISCLAIMER: Mother 3, Why you no (PK) love me?!**_

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_December 28, Claus POV_

"Oh great," I puffed out a tiny breath, glaring at the catastrophe of a tornado my room was submerged within, "I swear I've got to develop OCD or else I'll be buried under all the crap in here." I got started on clearing the hell, aka, my bedroom with a few groans from the antagonizing work. My dearest little Zero decided to peek into my room with his soft button nose pushing the door open. "Hey there little guy.", I waved to him, glad to have some form of distraction. He rubbed the top of his furry head against my pant leg with a low hum.

_Ugh, I've really got to stop procrastinating. _I shifted through a pile of shirts and pants, but then my hand bumped into something with a slightly more solid material. I reached and pulled out the mystery object, my eyes became wide at the sight of the black baseball cap. _This is... his hat. Wait... _The hat slipped out of my hand, I remembered a face that I think would have been better left forgotten. _That's crazy, he can't be..._

_Barri POV_

I visited Magicant in the afternoon of my own free will. I wanted to see Noname again, I figured out his first riddle. I appeared in his house where he sat in a chair drinking some auburn-crimson liquid, I wasn't sure if it was tea or fruit juice. He smiled at me, "You solved it, right?" "I. That's my answer." "You got that one right, I'm impressed.", he giggled lightly, "I'll tell you the next one quickly, someone is going to wake you up soon." "Okay." "My first is in apple, but not in lime. My second is in muffle and make, but never in life. What am I?"

_December 31_

"I'm sorry we can't stay with you," Lucas frowned, "The villagers will be suspicious if we don't go to the festival." I shrugged, "That's okay, I'll be fine here. You two just go and have fun." He seemed hesitant, but he eventually just thought it best to leave me be. He and Claus descended down the ladder, the latter twin shooting a knowing smile and wink my way before leaving.

v(-_-)v

_Thank god Kuma taught me how to use Teleport._ I thought to myself, hopping up a large tree in the Sunshine Forest. Once I found a stable branch to perch on, I brushed the snow off my coat and pants so I could sit more comfortably and watch the fireworks show. Bright flares flashed up into the sky, then burst into lights that shone like a million falling stars before disappearing into nothing. It was calming to watch them all going up one by one then fading away, but I did feel a bit sad because I couldn't be with Lucas and Claus. _Mh__, I wish I didn't have to be "dead"..._

"Hey, down here!"

I took a glance down, tilting my head with curiosity, "Claus? Why're you here?" He shrugged, "I figured you'd be out here. Besides, the villagers are used to me disappearing and coming back at random times, so they won't really see it as odd." "Oh, all right. Let me get down to see you." I was careful not to slip on the icy twigs beneath my feet, though I nearly lost my footing at the last branch. Thank god the fall was only a few feet to the ground and Claus had been able to catch me from where he had stood before I got a face full of snow. "Careful, you don't want to get more amnesia.", the psychic chuckled playfully. I hopped out of his arms with a tiny huff, "Sorry, I'm such a klutz." "There's a first time for everything." I leaned against the large oak and looked over to Claus, "So why'd you want to come see me? You should go back and have fun." He put an arm around my shoulders and ruffled my air affectionately, "Do you really think I'd let you spend New Year's all by yourself? I might look dense sometimes, but it was obvious you were down about being alone." _He could actually tell? _"Of course I could," he said, feeling a little hurt, "C'mon, let's go." "Huh? Where are we going?"

v(-_-)v

"So Lucas knows them?", I asked, my voice echoing through the rock tunnel along with our footsteps, "Yeah, they're supposed to be really friendly and love strangers too. They also know how to throw a helluva party." They cave seemed to be coming to an end when we viewed the rainbow of lights coming from the exit. Our eyes were met with tiny, odd house structures and bushes draped in lights and festive decorations everywhere. The inhabitants were all similar, a light peach color with macro sized noses, along with a red bow tied to their single strands of dark hair. They immediately took notice of our presence and instantly warmed up to us.

"ViSiToRs, ZoOm!"

"BoInG dInG, NeW yEaR's PaRty!"

"We ZoOm FuN hAvE!"

And so, they led us further into their small and strange little village to celebrate the New Year together.

v(-_-)v

The offered us some of their coffee (even though it was a bit late) by the pink hot spring. The texture was a perfect mix of creamy, and the aftertaste was neither too bitter nor sweet. "Seems like they've taken a liking to you.", laughed my guardian. It was true, a handful of the chose to gather around me, a few of the guys even got cozy on my lap. "Heh, I guess I'm kind of popular.", I meekly giggled. "Of course, what isn't there to like about you? You're the brightest kid I've ever met." All of us sat quietly, watching the sky light up from surrounding towns. I grimaced with a sigh, "I kind of wish Lucas was with us." "Yeah, he's probably bored to death without us." _That reminds me..._

"Claus, do you think that Lucas has... changed?", I asked hesitantly. The red-head turned to me with confusion in his eye, "What do you mean?" "Well... did he become different... after I "died"? In my old journal, I said some things about him and well... the way I described him was like he was someone else entirely." He respired with slight strain as his hand tightened over his cup, "Oh... that. Yeah, he did change. A lot. When you were gone, he became depressed for a while. He cared about you, like you were his real little brother; it hit him really hard when we thought you died. He shut himself up for months and would barely say a word to anyone or eat. I finally knocked some sense into him to get him out of it, but he still wasn't the same afterwards. Even though you're here now, he still isn't his old self, it makes me a bit worried, actually."

I bit my tongue, looking down into my cooling beverage. _I had no idea that I was that important to them... _Claus lightly nudged my side, "It's okay, it isn't your fault. C'mon, let's just have fun and watch the fireworks."

_January 1st, Claus POV_

As soon as four in the morning hit, Tazmily's lights died out and the villager's returned to their homes, we wasted no time in racing back home. Lucas was in the living room passed out on the couch reeking of alcohol, I bet Kumatora must've gotten him to drink since he's usually a happy drunk. Barri was on his way back to the attic, but then I remembered something I'd wanted to ask him about, even though I knew it was a terrible idea. "Hey Barri?" He stopped half way up the ladder and looked back at me, "Huh? Is there something wrong?" "I wanted to know... does the word Pigmask seem familiar to you in any way?" _"Pigmask...? I can't really think of anything at all." _"No," he shook his head, "Not at all. Why do you ask?" _I must be crazy, there's no way it could have been..._

"It's nothing, don't worry."


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight: Second in Command**

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Sometimes, I feel like a bit of a jerk when writing this. Then I wonder, "Do I _really_ care?" I'll give you a hint: Prolly not.

**DISCLAIMER: Why don't I own this series? Because shut up.**

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_January 3rd, Barri POV_

What Claus said to me the other night kept popping up in my head. I decided to skim through my journal to see if I had missed something about the "Pigmasks" he spoke of. From my notes, (I don't know how I missed this) I discovered that they almost _destroyed the world_ with a dragon. Claus was once forced to fight for them, they almost killed Lucas and his friends numerous times, and they were part of the reason Lucas and Claus's mother died. _Oh my god, this is horrible. What kind of people would do that to…? Huh? What's this?_ In tiny handwriting off to the side, there seemed to be a few sentences about the Pigmask's appearance, said to be described by Lucas. Beside that, there was a doodle matching the description that seemed quite familiar. _If I look at this the right way... it looks a bit like those soldiers from that dream I had! Maybe... maybe I should tell Claus about it, he might know something. It might also help me remember something._

_Claus POV_

"What?"

Okay, no. Just no, no, fucking no! This is _not_ happening right now! I just _had _to open my fucking mouth and ask him, didn't I?

"Yeah, it was kind of a strange dream and it was bothering me for a while. I found something about them in my journal and thought I'd tell you since you asked..." The boy began to fidget under my intense, dumbfounded gaze, neurotically twiddling his thumbs. "Um, C-Claus? Are you okay? Y-You look like you're going to be sick..." _Holy shit... so it really is him..._ I shook my head with a shaky sigh, "I-It's nothing, it must've been something I ate."

I didn't have to read his mind to know he didn't believe me.

_January 5th_

I shut myself up in my room in the afternoon, the strain on my mind was tiring me quickly. I turned over on my stiff mattress, glaring at the black cap the mahogany nightstand donned. _I can't believe I never put it together. Now that I think more on it, the whole scenario makes sense in some crazy way. I just wish I could have caught the signs earlier that Barri was actually _him_._

_**Many years in the past**_

_When I was the "commander" of the Pigmask Army, I was never the one in control. They tried to brainwash me and use other methods to make me do what they wanted, but that didn't work on me. As a last resort, they stuck something in my head to control my body and my actions, and that's what worked for them in the end. It was like there was someone else inside me using my body, and I could only watch from afar as they did what they pleased. I could still think and feel emotions like any other person, but my body was just Porky's lifeless puppet as far as anyone could tell. Even when I was ordered to kill, I would scream violently on the inside, fight to tell them no, but I didn't have the power to stop myself no matter what I did. I was just too weak to do anything._

_During my first couple of months as the "commander", I have a small memory of walking down a corridor at HQ, on my way to send a report from the Chimera Lab. The previous few days, I heard some gossip amongst some of the lower ranks (though the "commander" never bothered to interfere). There was a rumor going around that there would be another PSI user. A second "commander" to work under me. I kept tabs on any info I heard, though it wasn't much. Apparently, he was the son of "King" Porky's arch nemeses. The reason _why_ he was joining the Pigmask Army was never revealed, but it was more obvious to me than those morons. __**I still can't believe there are people sick enough to turn little kids into killing machines.**_

_I took notice of three figures walking to the opposite side of the hall, two were fairly nervous looking Pigmask Majors trailing behind a tiny boy in a black cap. He kept his head down and showed no sign of emotion besides a blank stare, just like the one I wore on the outside__**. I think that must be him...**__ The "commander" kept on walking, paying no mind to my thoughts or hinting at any signs of changing his path. That was normal to me by now, but that didn't mean I was okay with it. I passed by the small group, then I thought I heard something. I could have sworn the "commander" stopped for a split second, almost turning to the boy, but not quite. There had been a tiny and frail voice that weakly spoke, only two words echoed in my head._

_**"Help me."**_


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine: A Walk Down a Dreamy Forest**

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This chapter is kind of sad-ish, but not feel breaking sad. Oh well, continue on.

_**DISCLAIMER: Give me a F! Give me a R! Give me an I! Give me a G! Give me a N! Give me an O! What does that spell? Frig no, you frigging frig! (References a plenty)**_

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_January 15, Claus POV_

I placed the straw basket filled with winter flowers beside the winged gravestone marked, "Jake Sevi Rivers 3021-3033, Brave and Kind". I watched my breath convert into icy mist, wiping off the snowflakes off my cheeks that were already fiery like my hair. _I still wonder what happened to that strange kid, I don't think he's ever coming back. I hope he got to see his friend again..._

_January 17, Barri POV_

Ever since I told Claus about my dream, he's been acting… abnormally. He seems to be scared out of his wits when I interrupt him during his increasingly occurring deep thinking sessions and long periods of spacing out. I attempted to figure out what was troubling him, but he would change the subject then begin to laugh with a small nervous tone in there somewhere. It was a bit odd, but it kind of gave me a feeling of deja vu.

_January 24_

I set out to take a stroll past Sunshine Forest one night. There wasn't any particular reason for it, I suppose I just wanted to go somewhere else for a change since I've hung around the beach and the graveyard a lot more lately. I passed an old, wood-rotten sign with the words "Yume Forest" carved on an arrow, "Have I been here before? I feel like I know this place..." I shrugged at that creeping feeling that began to gnaw at me and continued on my merry way. I padded through some hills of snow and frost before seeing something come into my view. A large, light shaded building stood tall in the middle of a group of old trees, I could make out the words "St. Morelle Noire Orphanage" over the entrance.

Looking at that place seemed to awaken something that began to sear within me, like a wild flame begging to be let loose. I shook my head hesitantly, backing away from that place. _I don't... think I should go there. It seems like a bad idea... _Turning my back on that place, I chose to search for somewhere else to wander. _This whole area seems familiar, I just wish I knew why. There's still so many things I still don't know about myself..._

I took another step into the snow, but I was caught off guard by the ice underneath my boots. With an unusually squeaky shriek, I took a tumble down the side of the hill, grunting sharply at each hit from a bump I took. My rolling came to a stop once my forehead smashed into a grand oak tree, its roots dug harshly into my backside.

"Aurgh! I wish I wasn't so much of a klutz.", I whined whilst cradling my aching head. _I really need to start paying attention to where my feet are going... Huh? What's that? _A pale, unique form of moonlight shone through between the trees. I couldn't easily explain it, but I felt compelled to follow the light, as if it were an old friend beckoning me forward. Carefully getting up and brushing off the ice on my body, I began to head towards the light.

_What is this? Everything here is like from a dream I can't remember..._ Peaking over the trees and shrubs, there before me was quite a sight. The area seemed to be a large, secluded field of flora able to withstand the snow that riddled the grass, illuminating the grove in a soft, azure gleam with the help of the moon. _I... I've been here before, I just know it. _I wasn't sure if I was hallucinating, or if I was going mad, but I began to see what I believed to be mirages. It wasn't too easy to tell, but I could make out the shape of two children from afar, one very short and the other much taller. To me, their voices were quite clear.

_"So why did you bring me out here?"_

_"I found this place for us. It's hidden, so no one can find us when we're here."_

_"Oh, I guess that's cool..."_

_"What's wrong, don't you like it?"_

_"Huh? Oh, it's not that, this place is just kind of... unusual. I like it."_

_"Great! I wish we could just build a house and just stay here, then we wouldn't have to go back to the orphanage."_

_"We don't really have any tools, Jake..."_

_"I know, but it's nice to dream. Who knows, maybe we'll be adopted someday. Though if that does happen, we'd have to go together. Right?"_

_"Of course, you know I'd be pissed if anyone tried to separate us."_

_"Okay, then it's a promise."_

"_Yeah… a promise."_

Soon the voices began to diminish, and with them the fata morgana. I looked down, placing my hands over my chest. There was something about what I saw... part of me felt as though I had died inside. That hollow, idle feeling disturbed me, as if it wasn't the first time that I've experienced it. Honestly, just the thought of that frightened me.

_I wish I could remember why I feel this way..._


	10. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten: A Reflection, Not the Same**

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This chapter is very frustrating, not because it's difficult to edit or anything, but all the implications of future things and obscure things in it are just sickening. So here, have some mindfuck.

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not, I do not, I do not o-wn Mother 3. It is ob-vious to see. (What the heck? I don't even like Lady Gaga's music.)**_

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_January 28, Barri POV_

"Hey you, wake up."

I rubbed my eyes as they opened up to the shining sun, letting out a lazy yawn. I felt grass scratching lightly on my skin while the sound of rushing water flowed past my ears. A boy sitting by a purple river nudged at my side with a short tree branch. "Wake up, you've slept there for hours. I want to talk to you." I blinked, doing a double take to make sure I was seeing things correctly. The boy before me looked just like Noname, but… he seemed different. There was something about him that just seemed to… stand out, but I couldn't place what. _Another look-alike? How many are there in Magicant?_

He groaned, raising an eyebrow at me, "Finally, I thought you were dead or something." "Huh? Who are you?", I asked hi, sitting up against a smoothed boulder. "I could tell you, but I it would be kind of pointless. That, and I don't think it'd be a good idea to tell you," he mumbled, "You know me, though I've been... gone for a while, you could say. All you need to know is that I'm here to help you, so I'm no threat to you." "Oh, well, can I ask you some other things then?" The stranger shrugged, "Isn't that what you're doing now? Sure, but I won't be able to answer some of your questions." "Why?", I inquired. "Let's just say that since I'm here, there are things I can and can't say or else things could get… messy.", he carefully explained.

"I understand," I sighed, "So what do you mean by "messy"?" The stranger paused for a moment to carefully word his answer, "Well… Some friends and I are doing something to help me and someone close to me. I have to keep going over the details and fixing things so that everything will turn out like we need it to. If things don't go the way they need to… well, a lot of people could end up dying in the future." _Die? That sounds serious… _"Go back where?" "Can't really say, but just know what I'm doing is important. You might understand later, but I really doubt it…", the boy trailed off, looking distant.

Dead air stayed with us for a few moments before my doppelganger spoke again. "I'll tell you something you might find strange, it may not be of use, but there's a chance it will help you understand something. I don't look like it, but I'm thirteen years old in this place. The people around me believed that I was nine,and I did as well. Then some things happened to me, and then I remembered a lot of things I had… "forgotten" a long time ago. Now that I know what's really going on, I'm doing all I can to help the person close to me and myself." He peered down into the water, clutching his ankles as he sat Indian-style on the ground. His eyes seemed to portray a bitter-sweet, melancholy tone as a wry smile creased his lips, "You know, I've always blamed myself for the things that have happened, even if they weren't something I could control. I wanted to kill myself sometimes, even if that wasn't… Well, I was in a very dark place for a long time, but then I met some people who made me realize that I shouldn't be so hard on myself, and that I shouldn't have to be so afraid of myself. They're like family to me and I owe them a lot, even if they're not... Well... I just want them to be happy. I might be able see them again and a lot of lives are at stake, so I have to do this." I patiently listened to the small boy, as he spoke, he became quieter. His gaze shifted from the river to me, he seemed curious about my response. "I...," I began hesitantly, "I can understand that, I would want my family to be happy too. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them, so I'd want to protect them."

His eyes shied away from me, returning to the water, "... I see. I would tell you to not come back to Magicant again, but you'll end up back here one way or another." "What do you mean by that?", I asked. He shook his head, "I can't say what will happen, but you should know that Magicant is a dark place, filled with unspeakable things and secrets. Like I said, I would warn you not to return, but it'd be useless. Things will happen that I don't want to happen, but that's just how it has to be." _A dark place... secrets...? _"But... it's my Magicant, how do you know so much about it?" He seemed to ignore my question, standing up and brushing the non-existent dirt off his shorts, "I've got to get going. Sorry, but I don't think we'll see each other again in this realm. See ya." Wait!", I called after him, trying to get one last piece of information out of him, "Can't you just tell me who you are?" He looked back at me, a playful smile plastered on his face. It said everything at once, yet nothing at all, as if taunting me. What he told me to do puzzled me even further.

"Take care of Lucas and his idiot brother for me."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven: It Was Another Lie**

* * *

Welp. Stuff's getting real. Haha. I made a pun. You have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's kind of funny. In some sick, twisted way. I love being a jerk.

**DISCLAIMER: (picking off flower petals) I own Mother not... I own Mother not... I own Mother not! I think it's a sign!**

* * *

_February 2, Claus POV_

"I think that Barri was a part of the Pigmask's army."

Across the table, Lucas froze in place with his sandwich hanging from between his lips, showing more emotion than I've seen in him for a while (though to be fair, that outburst was very blunt, even for me). "That's... interesting." "O-Okay, let me explain first," I said calmly, "I've thought about this for a while, and it's really been bothering me. When I was... or rather, when the "Masked Man" was a part of the army, there was another commander who was a psychic. He was like five or six, but he was pretty strong and had a lot of concentrated power, nearly as strong as I was. Though when we- they started collecting the Needles, they thought he was incapable of using PK Love, so he was supposed to be... "reinforcement" for towns and villages who opposed the Pigmasks. I blocked a lot of things out from those times, but I still remembered something that stood out to me about that kid. He always had this black baseball cap on, it was oversized on his head and it looked weird on him, so it was hard to forget. A few weeks ago, I was going through some junk, I found his hat. That's when I started remembering what the kid looked like; he looked exactly like Barri.

"A little after that happened, Barri told me he had a strange dream. He said a boy was kidnapped from some guys who looked like Pigmasks, they killed his parents and just took him. The boy in the dream had a black baseball cap, just like the other commander. It only makes sense to assume that." My brother set down his lunch to say something. His words were as placid as usual, yet I could easily tell his mind was running in all directions without any idea of where to go. "But… When the Pigmask Army appeared, Barri wouldn't have even been a year old." "Yeah, but I also over heard something about bringing him from "another time". They also said that bringing people from other time periods could affect the way they grow and age, and if that's true, that would explain why Barri looks so much older even though he's been gone for nearly three years. He's supposed to be almost twelve, but it's possible that he's older than that if you take into that into account. Don't you see? It all fits." "… You didn't tell him, did you?" I shook my head, "How could I? I don't even want to think of what he would do if he found out." "Do you know what happened to the second commander after things returned to the way they were?" My eyes darkened with realization of something I had idiotically overlooked, "No. He was on an airship that crashed near a forest called Cixot. All the Pigmasks there died, but _his body was never found_. Now that I think about it, that was the forest that was next to the village where he was raised by his "mother".""We... shouldn't tell him," Lucas immediately spat out, "I don't want to hide things from him, but it's better for him that he doesn't know. Telling him would probably cause a lot of trouble." "I guess you're right..."

_February 14, Lucas POV_

"Ow!"

"If it hurts, then stop trying to eat the batter." My brother nursed his red hand marked by my wooden spoon. "How could you be so cruel?!", Claus cried, clearly being overdramatic. I poured the contents of the mixing bowl into three baking pans, "You're not even supposed to eat it like that, and raw egg will make you sick. If you throw up, you going to be the one to clean up the mess." "How nice of you," came the snide remark, "So how do you think he'll like the cake? I don't know if he likes vanilla." I shrugged, "It isn't much of a birthday present, but he should like it."

_Barri POV_

I knocked on the front door of Noname's cottage, ready with the answer to his second riddle. I solved it a while ago, but it just seemed to slip to the back of my mind when I was in Magicant before. The small boy greeted me with a warm, soft smile, "Hi, I haven't seen you for a while. Are you well?" I nodded, "Yeah, you seem really happy today too." "Ever since the Darkness invaded Magicant," he explained whilst welcoming me into his home, "I don't get many visitors. The Darkness is why the forest is cursed, and all the lost travelers who come through here are usually found from them and are killed by him." "Oh... I'm sorry." The boy shook his head, "It's okay, that's just how things are. Hold on, we can talk after I get us something to drink."

v(-_-)v

"Did you solve the second riddle?", asked the child sitting across the round table. I rubbed the tip of my index finger on the side of my mug as I looked down into my beverage, "Yeah, it's "am". A bit predictable, but still a good riddle." "Wonderful, now I can tell you the last one. Since no one will wake you up anytime soon, you can stay here to solve the final riddle. I can drop a hint or two if you need help." "Okay..."

_"Most people despise me, others freely welcome me._ _I can corrupt a man and turn another mad._ _Most people describe me as "evil", others say that I am their "friend". I easily seem to disappear and reappear, but I am never really gone. Who am I?" _I closed my eyes, repeating his words in my mind several times before attempting to solve the riddle. _So first… something people despise, and others freely welcome… Some kind of animal? __No… I doubt anything like a dog could corrupt__ anyone__. __Hm… something evil, but some people see as a friend… Huh, this one seems to be a lot more difficult… _I rubbed my eyes, feeling a little sensitive to the light that felt brighter than the lights in the attic. _Ugh… the lights are hurting my eyes a bit. Then again, most of the time I'm awake, it's always dark outsi… Wait, dark… "Most people despise me, others freely welcome me…" and then "Most people describe me as "evil", others say that I am their "friend"…" It fits but… that can't be, that's just crazy!_ My hand clenched around my mug tensely, my eyes focused harshly on the wooden table. A nervous sweat was quick to break out over me. _But… "I easily seem to disappear and reappear, but I am never really gone…" It all fits, but he can't be…_

Slowly, I raised my head to face the boy. He looked straight into my wide, golden eyes with a perfectly innocent face, wearing a large grin. It gave him away completely, and he knew it all too well. "Is there something wrong?" I shook my head stiffly, "N-no, I just remembered... there's somewhere I have to go..." As calmly as I could, though my hands violently shook, I stood and walked over to the door. I backed away when I turned the brass knob.

The door was locked.

I gradually turned my body around. He was standing behind me. _**He was standing behind me. **_His large, childish grin made me want to run far away, but I couldn't even twitch a muscle. I was afraid too even breathe. "Did you figure it out? Do you know who I am?" On instinct, I pressed my upper body against the tor to support myself, the way my legs began to shake, I would surely fall. "No, I... need more time to think. Please, l-let me leave." He took a step closer to me. "Come now, it isn't that difficult to figure out. You know who and what I am." "No, I don't! I don't know who you are!", tears formed at the corners of my eyes, filled with fear and dread. He took another step. "Say it." "No!" Black, smoky shadows of mist and shadows gathered at his hands, his grin widened. "Say my name."

He raised an arm, the shadows gripped my neck, strangling me like a python trapping its prey. I helplessly clawed at the smoky vines stealing my oxygen supply, my knees gave away under me as my lungs seemed to have burst into dry, deprived flames. My eyes bulged as I struggled to break free from the strangling aura ready to end my life. "St... op it... Ple... ah..." "Say my name." My arms limply fell to my sides and my head began to loll around the tendrils; I couldn't handle it. "D... Da... rkne… ness..." He released his hold on me, I dropped to the ground, unable to move as I gasped desperately. "See? I knew you could do it." He laughed cruelly, his laugh lacked any humanity or sense of sanity; it sickened me.

The demon kneeled down beside me with amused, amber eyes, "Now that you've said my name and seen my true self, the curse is broken. I'm free to do as I please, and you won't dare to stop me." His hand somehow passed through my chest, and when he pulled it back out, he held a faintly shining, violet ball of light. _N... no... He can't... _My eyesight was beginning to fail me, and all the feeling in my body was fading fast. I called out faintly in my disappearing voice.

"Save… me…"


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve: The Final Nightmare**

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Plot twist, doppelgänger is evil, that isn't cliché at all, hur hur! Anyway, jokes aside, the end is upon us and it will be quite interesting. An hour or two shy of the day I like to update this, but I'm in an odd mood at the moment and couldn't care less. So here, take my update! Take it and love the fuck out of it or face my fabulous waffles. Well. I need to sleep.

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**DISCLAIMER: ... You already know what I'm going to say, don't you?**

_February 14, Claus POV_

We climbed up the ladder and into the attic. Lucas carefully carried the sweetly decorated cake as he led the way to where the young teen slept. "He looks so peaceful.", Lucas whispered. "Yeah, I hope he'll be happy to see us." My brother lightly tapped the boy's shoulder.

Then he collapsed on to the mattress.

I wasn't mad that there was cake everywhere that would be a bitch to clean up later, I was literally freaking out at the sudden happening. "Lucas?! What-" I lost track of what I was saying when I grabbed his arm, I then felt as though I was falling into a deep sleep.

_Lucas POV_

I opened my eyes, finding myself in a somewhat unfamiliar place. _How did I get to this place? This is strange, it looks a lot like where the Magypsies used to live, but it feels different... _I turned to my side, there I was shocked to find Barri laying there beside me. There was something wrong with him. He wasn't moving, but his eyes were lazily opened into a blank stare. They were dull, unfocused, and possessed little color. It seemed that he could be dead, but I sensed he was still alive. "Barri?" I rested the back of my hand on the side of his warm, pink cheek; he was still clearly living. At that contact, his irises began to emit a pale, violet shine. Once the light died down, the gold returned into his eyes and seemed to be filled with life once more. He sharply shot up, as if awakening from a horrid nightmare. He gasped at my presence, "What... Why are you here?" "I don't know, I just woke up here. What's going on?" He pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to think clearly, "I was here and... No! The Darkness, it-!" With not a second to spare, he bolted out the doors of the cottage.

I tried to follow after him, but he disappeared into the dark, looming forest. "Lucas!" My brother emerged from the bushes and came to meet me. "What's going on? Where the hell are we?" "Stay here," I demanded, "I need to go." I ran off for Barri, leaving behind my confused, frantic brother.

_Claus POV_

_What the hell? This is just crazy... _Between the facts the three of us were transported to some creepy forest with a yellow seashell house and my brother and Barri running off to hell knows where, it's needless to say I was s_lightly _uncomfortable with this. _Should I go? I want to, but I have the feeling I should just stay here... _My ears picked up on the sound of rustling foliage, I was luckily quick to react to the noise. My eyes widened at the small figure before me.

It was the second commander of the Pigmask army.

"Wow, I'm surprised to find you here," he giggled, drawing near to me as a lion would to its next meal, "How long has it been since we last saw each other? Nine, Maybe ten years? Time has never been something that I cared much about." My eyes narrowed dangerously, never leaving him as he circled around me, "I was right, you _were_ Barri." He shook his head, "Close, but not exactly. I was a part of him, and I still am. I'm the "darkness" in his heart; a part of him deep inside his mind that wants nothing more than to destroy everything in his path, even everything he holds dear. He was once strong enough and able to contain me, but he's become weak and I can do whatever I want now." _This can't be true, this is nuts._

"I won't let you do this, I'm going to stop you." "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I shook my head at the evil boy, "Yeah right, like I'd listen to what you say."

_Lucas POV_

"Barri."

The young ravenette leaning against a familiar looking post box. He stared into the embers that tickled his palm, lost in the faraway look in his face, seeming almost horrified but… understanding? _What the hell is going on? _He clenched his fist to kill the flames, leaving only ashes. He stood to sprint over to me with an apologetic frown, "I'm sorry I ran off like that, something happened and... I got scared." "That's okay, let's go back, Claus is by the seashell, I told him to stay there." "He's by himself?", he muttered quaintly, "This forest is cursed and the Darkness... We have to go! Now!" Barri grabbed on to my wrist, and pulled me along with all his might back on the path. He paused for a moment to clutch his side in pain. "What's wrong?" "Don't worry about me," he groaned, "We have to go!"

_Barri POV_

_We have to hurry, if he finds Claus... _I winced at the invisible blow to my arm, doing my best to not let it hinder my speed. _No. Don't think like that. I won't let that happen. But that letter... _"Can you tell me what's going on?", Lucas asked anxiously, dodging a low branch. "The most I can tell you right now is that there's a tiny boy in a black hat who looks like me. He stole something important, and I have to get rid of him, but I have to..." "Have to what?" I merely shook my head, I could never tell him something like that. Though honestly, that stupid thing I'd have to do didn't even matter to me, but if he found out, well…

… It just might kill him.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen: Only a Nightmare…**

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So yeah. Final chappy. Yup. Each and every one of you are going to kill me in my sleep.

_**DISCLAIMER: Alas, this grand title is far beyond my grasp. (Hurr hurr, I'm a poet and didn't know it, because I rhyme all the time.)**_

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_February 14, Lucas POV_

The yellow seashell soon came into sight, along with my brother and a demonic looking child engaged in battle with PSI. Claus seemed to be holding his own, but he was also struggling to stay on his toes. The boy was clearly more skilled than his opponent. "Claus! Get away from him!", Barri shouted, extremely desperate for him to stop attacking, "He's dangerous, stay away!" The two looked our way at the sound of his voice, the small boy smirked with hubris, "Oh look, the rest of your "family" is here to die." He quickly raised his hand, readying an attack. Neither of us could move, whether it was from fear or shock, I could not say, but I couldn't take my eyes off the frosty mist that gathered at such a fast pace. That moment when long, jagged shards of ice hurtled towards us, my breath stopped. All I could think about was how cleanly it would pierce through us, like soft, squishy butter, and tearing us to shreds just as easily. We were going to die then, there was no doubt in my mind. But in that last second...

... Claus appeared before us, taking the frozen daggers to his back.

Bloodied tips of ice poked out of his chest and a river of crimson poured from his mouth and stained his body and the grass. He dropped to the ground like a lifeless rag doll, weakly grunting at his wounds. I fell to my knees and cradled his head, lifting his body so the spikes would not push further into his insides. "You _idiot_!", I yelled fiercely, breaking from my stoic nature, "Why did you do that?!" Salty tears blurred my vision heavily, but I could see Barri out of the corner of my eye. He trembled greatly and was unable to form words, his wide eyes gaped at all the blood everywhere. My brother hacked harshly, his uneven breathing hitching when he inhaled, "I-I'm sorry... Today... was s-supposed to be great... I-I r-ruined your birthday, Barri..." "Shut up! You're going to be just fine!", I shouted at him, but I don't think he could even hear me anymore. "It was... supposed t-to be fun... We w-were going... to go a-all... together..."

What little warmth he had just... disappeared. His eye drooped as the muscles in his neck gave away. "No... Dammit, wake up! You're not dead!" I've never screamed like that before, my voice cracked under the pressure and strain I had forced out. The evil child that looked on huffed heartlessly, "Wow, he sure was stupid. I'll never get why people are so willing to die for others. It's pointless."

_Barri POV_

I was mad. No, that's much too inaccurate. I was _livid._

My enraged glare didn't influence the Darkness's bored expression, though the bravest people would likely be blown off their feet. "Do you think this is just a game and that you can just toy around with us like this?", I demanded, my voice hazardously low, sounding oddly calm. He chuckled with amusement, "Of course, you make it too easy."

Something inside off me broke out. Something terrible. I lunged at the boy with a heavily curled fist. He swiftly sidestepped to avoid my attack. I continued the assault, hitting every so often and having the same pain inflicted on to myself. He didn't try fighting back, he only giggled cruelly, "Why even bother fighting against me? You know what will happen to you." I ignored his taunt. "Why are you doing this?", I growled, "What did I ever do to you? I don't deserve this!" The Darkness just cackled, as if my questions were a joke, "You think I actually care about something as trivial as hatred or revenge? Those are just dumb excuses. Reasons are always simple and mine are no exception." I pulled back with my fists still up, I panted heavily from exertion. I gritted my teeth angrily, "Why then? Why are you doing this?" He flashed an arrogant grin.

"I'm doing this because I can."

In my rage, I'd nearly forgotten Lucas was even here. I almost didn't even notice him sneaking behind Darkness with a psychic attack already prepared for him, fire raging in his eyes. Then, for some reason, hesitation lit on his face and his body stopped moving for a split moment. The demon child was quick to take advantage of his mistake, creating a thin blade of PSI in his left hand and swiftly whirling around to slit his throat. "NO!"

Lucas stumbled while clutching his neck, gurgling and choking as blood effortlessly seeped through his fingers. "Ba... rri... ", he wheezed dryly, his movements sluggish and trembling, "P-please don..." The bright azure in his eyes dulled to a lifeless gray as his body unceremoniously dropped. I rushed to his side without hesitation, uselessly shaking his shoulders, "No, Lucas! You... you can't die, not you too! You can't! You can't..." I grasped the cloth of his shirt, my tears mixing with Claus's dried and his fresh blood. "Please... I don't want you to die, y-you two can't leave me alone like this..."

"It's so disappointing to see you so sentimental," the Darkness sighed, a mocking grin clear on his face, "I remember when you decided to shut yourself off from the world and didn't let anything faze you. You used to be fierce and unnerving, I almost admired those aspects in you. Now that you've let yourself care about others, you're just a weak child again. You can't do anything right, just like that last time. Remember how you let _him_ die? You cared too much, and that's what caused it. You watched him and all those other people die, and you didn't do anything. I guess you really are worthless."

I released a heavy breath I felt as though I've held for a long time. I let go of Lucas, standing up to face my evil half. My words were devoid of my happy personality, now replaced with malice and venom. Something deep within me finally revealed itself, showing its true nature. "I'm going to kill you." Amethyst shadows of energy spiraled and wrapped around me, gathering and growing as I summoned my powers. "I'll show you who the worthless one is. I'm not afraid of you. You're just another disgusting stain in my life, and I won't show you any mercy." The Darkness seemed surprised by my sudden rashness, possibly even confused, but he only laughed at my deadly threats, "Well then, if you're so willing to die, I won't stop you."

_The letter was right, there's no use in denying it..._

While chasing after the Darkness, I somehow got distracted by another red post box. I've been too curious about them, and I've only seen one. Though when I checked it, it did not contain a pile of notes, but instead, a single letter. A letter addressed to me, but written in my own handwriting.

_"Dear "Barri", If you're reading this, then I'm sorry for what you'll have to do."_

I targeted the Darkness, ready to attack with everything I had. I would not let him get away.

_"In order for everything to go according to plan and to save the lives of many people, you have to face your fears. And for that, Lucas, and Claus will die, you're going to kill the Darkness, and you'll become the thing that you've feared becoming."_

He narrowly dodged a freeze technique, failing to put up a shield due to the cancellation by a PSI blast. I wouldn't give him the time to protect himself. He wasn't getting away alive or otherwise.

_"I'm sorry that we have to put you through this, but it's going to have to happen in order for you to face your fear. You have to be brave, I know you can do it. I believe in you."_

I broke skin on his shoulder, a gash appeared on my own. I bared the pain, not taking the time to flinch. It didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore. I had nothing to lose or gain, but I only wished death upon this plague of a monster.

_"You and the Darkness have a special bond, and because of this, you're going to have to kill him to face your fears as well."_

The Darkness finally realized it was time for him to get serious, given our current situation. We were both aware of an important detail: If I continued with this, he really would die.

_"If one of you dies, the other will meet the same fate. He has to die, and you will as well."_

Being much faster than him worked to my advantage. I easily avoided him, yet still remained able to get in a few good hits. _They won't die for nothing. I have to kill him, for their sake._

_"I wish I could tell you everything, this would make it easier for both you and me. I have to talk in stupid riddles just so this "story" doesn't fall apart, and I can't tell you anymore about the "truth, at least, not now."_

With one final slash across the abdomen, he fell to the floor so easily, broken and defeated. I groaned harshly, touching to where a new wound appeared and bloodstains grew on my shirt. I made sure to cut deep, so we didn't have long until our attacks took in their final effects. "You idiot!," the Darkness chuckled horribly, hacking up blood, "You killed me for something as dumb as revenge? What a joke! I swear you're just another idiot, you're so pathetic!" He continued to insanely cackle, I shook my head at him, "No, you're the pathetic one. This place is just some mad fantasy made up in my head, just like you. I don't even know why I'm still talking to you, you're just a psychotic maniac, and you'll die one as well." I pitied him, though it didn't seem that logical. Maybe I was just a psychotic maniac as well and I felt how desperate he really was to live, or maybe it was just the cloudiness in my mind driving me nuts. I turned, walking away from the mad boy who continued to laugh with his broken voice. My wound was much deeper than I thought, the dizziness and nausea began to catch up to me when I fell flat on the grass.

_"If everything goes right, we may see each other again. If not, then I'm sorry. If I ever do tell you this again, I hope you don't hate me for this stupid mess."_

I never really thought about dying before, but I assumed I would be scared. I wasn't, there was no reason for me to be afraid. What did I have to lose? After all, I had already lost what mattered to me, so there wasn't a point in still wanting to live. I heard a tiny mewl in front of me, I tiredly raised my head to see Zero watching me with curious aurelian eyes. "H... Hey, you're here too," I feebly muttered, "Sorry you... had to see this." The kitten nudged my limp hand with his soft little nose, I sighed weakly. _Poor thing, he's going to be all alone... I guess it was selfish of me to forget about him... _My eyelids began to slowly droop as the outside world started to fade from my mind.

_"Even if it's not possible, I hope..."_

As the light of the world disappeared around me, a sorrowful smile crossed my lips. _I hope__..._

_"... we can see each other one more time. Maybe then I could say sorry for what I've done. Goodbye, the "other" Barri."_

...

...

...

_February 14, Zero POV_

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

As I opened my eyes, my vision was filled with white. My sight quickly cleared and I was able to see my setting. Under my thin blanket, I was freezing and my breathing was faint under the beeps. I softly craned my head to the side, finding an IV and heart monitor at my bedside. _I'm in the hospital...? _I stared down at myself, viewing no serious injuries other than a few measly scratches and old scars of mine on my arms. _I... I was taking a walk out of the orphanage, I think... Some of the kids were making fun of me again... but I don't remember what happened to me. Someone must have brought me here… _I used my elbows to push myself up into a better position, trying to take a better look at my surroundings. It was a fair sized room, not too big or small. I never felt comfortable in hospitals, but it wasn't too bad, it was clean, at least. On the nightstand beside me, there were a few cards, a bouquet of sunflowers, and a balloon presenting, "Get Well Soon!" _Strange, who would want to see me, unless it was Jeff and Tony? It might have been them, but they're always so busy, I doubt they'd have the time to come seem me... _The sound of voices outside caught my attention.

"-id is okay, they said he'd wake up soon."

"Yeah."

"Today's his birthday, so maybe we can get him a cake."

"Yeah."

_I think I've heard those voices before, I don't recall them though. _The doorknob turned, I turned my head in that direction. When the door opened, two guys entered the room. They both seemed to be about nineteen or twenty, and they both had similar faces, but they had some physical features that set them apart. Without thinking, I mumbled two names so quietly that only I could hear my quaint voice, "Lucas...? Claus...?

Lucas and Claus... they were the names of two people who I've never met before.

* * *

Yeah… So that's the end… of this story, at least. Gonna have a little chapter in a while to explain the events that have happened, but I'm a bit busy at the moment and it'll take me a week or two to get it out since I'm such a lazy fuck. There's still a helluva lot of stuff that must be very confusing, but hey, that's just how I work. M'kay then, see you in the next while.


	14. XXX: Truth

**XXX: "Truth"**

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Here, take some explanations. It's going to fuck with your mind a little, but just take it. There ya go, now you can have a migraine and question the existence of everything.

_**DISCLAIMER: MEGAMAN, MEGAMAN! I don't own this series!**_

* * *

_Barri POV_

_"Hey… Barri? Open your eyes, Barri."_

I did as the familiar voice asked, meeting myself in a room of complete white with an… odd looking Jake. "Jake?" He was different, he wasn't transparent and he looked older; he actually looked like his age, twelve, for once. "What…" "C'mon, we've got a lot to explain to you." "We?"

I looked behind my friend, seeing two others standing there. The first one was Adam, who looked as grumpy as usual, but the other was someone I'd never met before. He was very tall and looked to be in his late teens, about nineteen, I would guess. He looked a bit like Jake, but he had darker hair and skin as pale as snow. He wore thick, square glasses that gave him some sense of maturity, but his habit and appearance suggested he seemed a lot more child-like. "What am I doing here? And who's that guy?"

The mystery person spoke, his voice was a bit whimsical, but in a sort of relaxed and natural way, "Oh right, I keep forgetting you don't know the "truth". You can just call me Andy, you could say I'm like these two squirts here." The blonde shook his head at the young man beside him, "Quit calling me a squirt, it's embarrassing." "You're just mad because you were kept in the dark this whole time while Evan and I knew the "truth". You know you're a bad actor, so the plan wouldn't have worked if you were in on it. Don't be so cranky.", Andy laughed at the little boy. As the two continued to bicker, Jake talked to me seriously, "Try to ignore them, they always fight like this. Anyway, we have to talk to you. It's about the "truth" of why you're here in this world…" _What the hell? What is he talking about? _"C'mon, we'll explain everything to you."

"What do you mean?", I inquired, completely lost with all this nonsense. "Well, to put things simply," Andy stated, ceasing his argument and attending to the more urgent matter, "This place that you've been living in for the past couple of weeks isn't real. Your friends, home, life… it's all just an illusionary spell." I was left silent for a few moments, and when I finally spoke, I was just unsure and dumbstruck, "I… I don't understand. You've got to be joking, right?" He shook his head, "Afraid not, kid. It's just a big, magical hallucination." "Andy!", Jake harshly scolded the teen. He only shrugged, not ashamed of his fault, "What? I'm not going to sugar coat it for him. It won't help to just act like everything is all right when it really isn't. Now Barri, try and think of your real "life". Remember everything that's really happened." I raked a hand through my tangled hair, feeling sweat brush on my arm, "I-I don't know what you're saying, this doesn't…" That when it hit me. My real memories. I could see my real family; mom, dad, and my brother. Then I started remembering the things about myself. My name was Barri Jason Doe. I used to live in Twoson, and I was supposed to be ten years old on February 14th. I was always with my brother, and his name was Zero. My mom was really pretty, and she was really famous when she was little. My dad was really funny, and he taught me and Zero how to play baseball when we were four. That was all real, it wasn't made up. It was the life that _I _had. The one I had when I was still living, at least.

"I… I'm dead.", my voice was just a monotone mumble, completely breathless and void. Andy clapped at my realization, "Bravo, ten points to Gryffindor." The other two shot him stern glares, but he just seemed to ignore him. "I died when I was six, and I became a spirit," I continued, straining to get my thoughts straight, "We had a stupid fight, and I just ran into the graveyard and then… I get it, then that stuff that happened was fake, but then how did all of this happen? I don't really know any of you, so are you guys just fakes too?" Adam shook his head, "We're real, trust me on that. We technically did meet, but that was right before any of this happened since we were the ones who did this." "The ones who-" Once again, memories seemed to come back to me, but these ones were more fresh and recent. "Wait… You're the jerks who ambushed us!", I pointed at the group, raising my voice with agitation, "You did something to me and my brother! Just what the hell was that?!"

_Barri's Memory…_

The night seemed cold, but it didn't look as harsh as winter normally was. The sidewalk we walked along was broken and cracked, but it's not like I could feel the cement under my transparent feet. Spirits can't feel physical things or even taste, I've gotten accustom to this over the past years. My brother kicked at the pebbles in his way, just sighing at the falling snow and watching his breath become icy mist. I had to remind him to bundle up; he always wore a thin, dark jacket since he said it wasn't too cold during the day, but he always complained about the temperature whenever he took walks at night like this. He pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose since they always slipped when he had his head down. He always wore such a big pair because he got made fun of by the other children at the orphanage if he didn't. I used to have the same eyes as him when I was still alive; a great, deep amber that radiated like the sun. Mom always said they were beautiful and that they were unique, but they always made us stand out more than we already did. Psychics always stood out; we were always different by nature and feeling, that's just how it was.

Before we knew it, we'd walked to the edge of town, walking through the tunnel that lead to Threed. Zero just stopped, sitting down to lean against the stone wall and stare out at the empty road. "You shouldn't be out here for too long," I told him, "You could get sick, and I'm not paying for that damn hospital bill if you get something serious." He hummed at my playful worries, "I'm okay, you know that I don't get sick easily." I got down on the ground beside him, slightly wishing that I could feel the cold cement like I always did. I couldn't feel pain or anything else, but that didn't mean I didn't want to. "Hey," my brother sighed, "You're not mad, are you?" I frowned at his question, he asks me that more that I'd like to admit. He still blames himself, even though it's been so long since it all happened. He thinks about it more that he should, but I think it hasn't been bothering him as much lately. "You know I'm not," I quietly groaned, "Just stop worrying about that." He rubbed his red nose tiredly, "I know. I still do it, but it's hard to stop." I didn't want his to keep talking about this subject, I tried doing what I could to get his mind off it, "What do you put in a box to make it lighter?" He bit his lower lip as his face contorted into a questioning expression. It only took him a few seconds to figure out the answer, "A hole, right?" "What's an instrument that you can only hear?" "Hm… A voice?" "What can be the sun, sand, and a bird, but come in different forms?" The dark-haired boy seemed to have trouble on this one, but he was eventually able to find the answer. "Oh, a clock. It can be a cuckoo, a sun dial, and an hour glass."

I always gave him riddles I read in books whenever I didn't want him to think about something. He knew what I was trying to do, but he never seemed to mind since he had fun figuring them out. We were always those strange kids who stayed inside more and read a lot; we even read a whole thesaurus when we visited the library a few years back. Since we read so often and knew a ton of big words, we often spoke like we were older than we really were, according to some adults. We also understood a lot more too, considering kids already understand a lot more than people would expect.

"Hey, you two.", a voice called out at the Threed end of the tunnel. Our eyes snapped on to the speaker, feeling a sense of shock at the words "you two". People can't see me. At least, not many people. Zero and Tony are the only people who could ever see me, so it was natural for us to be scared. There was a group of four, it was hard to tell what they looked like under those dark hoods, but two of them were the same tiny height, one was about a foot and a half taller, and the one leading them was definitely a good five feet. "Zero and Barri, right?", asked the tallest, I was able to make out square glasses on his face, "Looks like you, anyway." My brother and I stood, we both took an offensive stance. "Who the hell are you, and how do you know us?", I growled, ready to strike someone down. The tall one just sighed, "No need to be so quick to jump the gun. I know you guys aren't going to like this, but we're going to need you to guys to sleep for a while." Before either of us could even react, we were surrounded by the group who held out their hand to prepare for something. They all called out the same thing in some strange language, and after that, my mind was just one great blank.

"Ligo miraculo magicantus!"

v(-_-)v

"Just what the hell was that?!", I was honestly ready to rip their heads off. "I guess we were hasty with that…", Jake muttered sheepishly. The eldest held his hands up, seeming apologetic, "Okay, we _were_ sort of rash, but we had to cast the spell quickly before th-" "Spell?", I laughed mockingly in disbelief, "A spell? So what, are you all wizards or something?" "Warlocks," Andy corrected me, "Though we're also psychics and I'm a time watcher as well." Something he actually said had me quite interested, but it was something I hadn't expected, "Time watcher? That sounds familiar." "Oh right, you don't know that yet," he groaned to himself before going on with an explanation, "A time watcher is someone who is able to see certain points in time, and it's basically being a time traveler without being able to alter what has happened, is happening, or will happen. There aren't many time watchers, but not all of them are the same. Some can see the future clearly or some have "feelings" that something's going to happen. Some can only tell what's happening in the present and happened somewhere or others know everything about a person's past, yet they have no idea what will happen in the future. There's a ton of weird combinations, and they're rarely ever the same. I, for example, can actually see the past, present and future. I'm really good at telling what will happen in the future, but the past is difficult for me to see, and the present is somewhere in the middle. Time watchers inherit the abilities from their mothers, just as I did. The same goes for you and your brother; your mother, Paula Doe, was able to have short visions of the future, right?" I wasn't sure how to verbally respond to that, so I just nodded for confirmation. "You and your brother are time watchers, and you can both see the pasts of people by touch, and you also have "feelings" of future events when it's something really strong.", he added. It's scary how spot on this guy was, he definitely had me convinced.

"Okay then, you see time and all of you guys are magical spell-casters." "Warlocks.", Adam noted. "Whatever. If that's true, then what do you guys have to do with me and my brother?" "Geez," the blonde rolled his eyes, "It's not always just about you." I shot a glare his way, Andy just continued on with his explanations, "The main point is that since I can see the future, I can also see various outcomes of what can and can't happen if some events do or don't occur. We had to do this because if you and your brother didn't have the Magicant Charm casted on you, the world would be sent to chaos. It didn't look to pretty, so I thought it would be best to avoid that and go through with this." I crossed my arms, my voice sounding highly skeptical, "Chaos, huh? And what's this "Magicant Charm"? That was what you did to us?" "Righto," glasses boy grinned, "Jake's the spell expert, so he should explain it." The boy in question huffed lazily, but started his part, "Well, to put it basically, it's a spell that makes the affected persons face their fears. They're put to rest for usually a week or two while in their heads, there's a fabricated world that has the perfect scenario set up to face their fear. Passage of time and the setting of that world don't correspond with reality, so that world could have existed for a hundred years when only five days have passed in real time. Once they've faced whatever it is that they're most afraid of, they can wake up go on with their life. Usually, they don't remember most of what happened in that fake world, but in your case, since you're…" "Dead?", I helped the struggling boy. "That. Because of that, you'll definitely remember this, so that actually gives you an advantage to when you, theoretically, wake up."

_This is all fucking insane… How is facing our fears going to save the world? _"You know that playing the hero is in your blood," the teenager commented, "So it's really not that surprising." I pointed at him, retracting my hand several times with hesitation, "You just…?" "Read your mind? Yeah, I do that a lot. It's not my fault, it just happens." _Huh. Weird._ "Indeed. Now, back to the "how is this going to save the world deal", let me start off like this. You and your brother are going to wake up on your birthday. He's going to be adopted by two psychics, one of which you will spend a lot of time around and you both are going to help them with a ton of crap and some other stuff. Sometime after that, something is going to happen that is going to trigger the possible start of the world going to hell. I can't tell you too much because future bull and all that, but when that happens, what you fear now will kill both of you if you can't at least face it, which will then lead to the end of those you hold dear and nearly everyone else in the world. If that happens, reality and nightmares will just mesh together and cause all hell to break out. Now, questions, thoughts, and concerns?"

"So that's it…," I quaintly mumbled, feeling… oddly calm about this information, "That "truth" is really one big fat lie, a lie that doesn't really exist." Adam nodded, "That's right. According to Andy, the four of us had to do this; Jake, Andy, Evan and I did all this just for the two of you." "And you," I turned to the young man in glasses, "You're a time watcher like me and him, only you can see more than we can. That means you know what's going to happen, and that you're doing this for that reason, right?" "Well, of course," he replied, "This is all a bit too abstract for it not to have a reason. One way or another, you two needed to face your fears, and this is the way destiny planned it would go. Evan is helping you face your fears now, and then it will be _his_ turn to face his. Only when those tasks are completed will you be able to leave. Like I said, something like this was bound to happen, one way or another."

_I'm starting to understand what happened… How they ambushed us, but now I can understand why they did it. The four of them are trying to help us, so I guess…_ "Okay, I want to go back now to go face it. I'm not exactly in love with the idea, but like you said, it has to be done. There's just one thing though." "Huh?", Jake was puzzled by my sudden words, "What is it?" "I want to help you guys. I want to help him too, so I'll do anything I can after I'm done with this." "Of course," Andy said cheerily, "That was part of the plan as well, though I will let you know that with your involvement, there may be some side effects. Nothing life threatening, but they could be a slight hindrance to you." "I don't care what it is, I'll risk my life if that's what it takes for my brother."

The young man smirked, "Very well then. I guess we should send you back now. We'll see you soon."


End file.
